Mady's Brunch unites community for charitable cause

Thursday

Apr 17, 2014 at 6:51 AM

A community Character Brunch brought people of all ages together Saturday in memory of a special 13-year-old who tragically lost her life in 2010. Madyson Brendyl Law lives on through the charity work the organization Mady's Angels does. Her parents, M.J. and Laura Law, started the organization in 2011 and have kept it going strong with community support, including Saturday's Character Brunch at the Reformed Church of Bushkill.

MELANIE VANDERVEER

A community Character Brunch brought people of all ages together Saturday in memory of a special 13-year-old who tragically lost her life in 2010. Madyson Brendyl Law lives on through the charity work the organization Mady's Angels does. Her parents, M.J. and Laura Law, started the organization in 2011 and have kept it going strong with community support, including Saturday's Character Brunch at the Reformed Church of Bushkill.

"Our family, friends and complete strangers helped us through our devastating grief, and in return we wanted to give back to our community. Mady liked to volunteer and help others, so it was only fitting for us to start a nonprofit organization and call it Mady's Angels and continue helping others in her memory," said Laura Law. "In April of 2011 we had our first fundraiser with a spaghetti dinner, and Mady's National Junior Honor Society teacher, Lisa Baldwin, had the first character breakfast and art sale."

Since 2011, Mady's Angels has hosted 25 events, plus a monthly community dinner called Mady's Kitchen at St. John's Catholic Church.

M.J. Law said the biggest event is held in August at Barley Creek Park and is called Mady's Snow Day. "We have bands, games, vendors, raffles, food, fireworks and it even snows at the end of the night," she said.

In December, there's Mady's Rock N Bowl at Skylanes Bowling Center in East Stroudsburg to raise funds to purchase toys for underprivileged children for Christmas. On May 18, the group will hold its first golf tournament at the Country Club of the Poconos.

"Because Mady's Angels has merchandise with an attractive logo, funds are constantly being raised from other events we set up at, website sales, and from Mady's dad traveling around the world with a bag of Mady merchandise and spreading her story," M.J. Law said.

The Character Brunch is something Baldwin and the National Junior Honor Society members organize and run. The money raised from this event will give a scholarship each year to an East Stroudsburg North High School senior until Mady would have graduated.

"I was Mady's National Junior Honor Society adviser. I got involved with Mady's Angels because I met Mady, a second-year member of the Lehman NJHS. Our organization focuses on leadership, scholarship, community service, volunteerism and character. She is the personification of all five components," said Baldwin. "I never heard her speak negatively about anyone or anything in the time we shared together. That speaks volumes in the world of middle school. It is because of this I started Mady's Character Brunch. I wanted to make sure that a spirit and character like hers would never be forgotten, so it was immediately determined that a scholarship needed to be created based on an organization that her very being optimized."

The brunch included homemade food, a DJ, a silent art auction with art from local school children, and an Easter Bunny for families taking photos with their children. The National Junior Honor Society kids organize and run the event. Baldwin said this is the one and only totally obligatory event for all members of the year.

Parents of the students involved gave hours of their time setting up and cooking and baking.

"I have two kids in Honor Society, and I think this event is important to do," said Tammy Rivera. "Every year the event gets bigger and bigger. It's for a great cause and the kids learn to give back to the community."

Everyone helped out enthusiastically. At some points throughout the event, it was standing room only.

Ninth-grade student Olivia Yandolino donated her time helping out the event for the second year.

"I love that it's for a good cause," she said. "It's great to see the community come out and support this."